Allianoi Izmir, 2008

Allianoi was an ancient thermal healing centre near Bergama, the site of ancient Pergamon, in the province of İzmir. Situated at Paşa Ilıcası, approximately 18 kilometres northeast of Bergama, it developed around natural hot springs in the Yortanlı valley. Although evidence of activity in the surrounding area reaches back to much earlier periods, the settlement flourished especially during the Roman Empire, notably in the second century AD. Its remains offer an exceptional insight into the relationship between water, medicine and everyday life in antiquity.

At the heart of Allianoi stood an extensive thermal bath complex, where naturally heated water was channelled into pools and bathing rooms. Excavations revealed paved streets, courtyards, architectural remains, mosaics and a range of everyday objects. A building arranged around a colonnaded courtyard also yielded medical instruments, strengthening the interpretation of Allianoi as a centre associated with healing as well as bathing. The springs, with water temperatures of around 45°C, were still known locally long after the ancient settlement had fallen out of use.

Allianoi's Roman development is often associated with the period of Emperor Hadrian. Over subsequent centuries, earthquakes and deposits carried by water gradually buried parts of the settlement. This accumulation of sediment also helped preserve important architectural remains. Archaeological salvage excavations conducted from 1998 to 2007, under the direction of archaeologist Ahmet Yaraş, brought much of the site to light and produced numerous finds, including ceramics, coins, sculptures and medical instruments. The discoveries revealed the scale and sophistication of a place that had remained largely hidden for centuries.

Yet the rediscovery of Allianoi took place in the shadow of the Yortanlı Dam project, designed to provide irrigation water for the surrounding agricultural land. The dam embankment was completed in 2005, but the filling of its reservoir was delayed amid legal disputes and sustained public concern over the fate of the archaeological site. Archaeologists, conservation specialists and civil society organisations called for alternatives that would preserve the remains in their original setting. The debate raised a difficult question about the balance between agricultural development and the protection of irreplaceable cultural heritage.

In 2010, the archaeological remains were covered with protective materials, including clay and sand, before the reservoir began to fill late that year. By early 2011, Allianoi was submerged beneath the waters of the Yortanlı Dam. The covering was intended to offer a measure of physical protection, but the site could no longer be visited or experienced within its original landscape. Its disappearance from view remains a significant episode in the history of archaeological conservation in Turkey.

I photographed Allianoi in 2008, when its Roman pools, baths, paved surfaces and other structures were still visible. I remember archaeological activity at the site, although I cannot say with certainty whether the work I witnessed was excavation, documentation or conservation. Nearby, the dam had already been built, but the reservoir had not yet been filled. The contrast was striking: the remains of an ancient healing centre had been brought into daylight, while the prospect of their submergence was already present.

Looking back at these photographs, I see more than the architecture of a Roman spa. They record the final years in which Allianoi could still be seen in its historical setting. Like my later photographs of Hasankeyf, this series has become a document of a cultural landscape transformed by a dam project. The stones remain beneath the water, but the place I photographed in 2008 is no longer accessible to visitors.